Why we should all be more fluent in medical speak

The more we know about health care, the better our medical decisions will be, writes Ludmilla Scott

A specialist in emergency medicine visits a patient at the emergency department of Burjeel Hospital n Abu Dhabi. Silvia Razgova / The National

It is not always clear whether patients understand or know what their doctor meant, after they leave their appointment, but there is growing concern about the level of health literacy.

The World Health Organisation has determined that health literacy is an important issue. Several definitions exist, but health literacy simply means that people know where to obtain information, are able to understand that information and have the capacity to use it to manage their health or that of those they care for.

With the overwhelming amount of information available on the internet, doctors are increasingly concerned that patients may misinterpret that information and ignore their doctor’s advice, in order to address health matters.

What we know for sure is that many people use the healthcare system, even when they don’t need to, costing the government billions of dirhams.

At Zayed University, recent Emirati graduates in public health and nutrition, Jawaher Al Dhuhoori, Fatima Jasmine Sidawi and Ayesha Al Zaabi, are participating in research that looks at ways to assess a person’s level of health literacy.

Students are often seen as the “more educated” person in the family and more “fluent in English” given the large number of expat healthcare providers who do not speak Arabic in this country. But formal education alone does not translate into health literacy. It takes more than being educated and we must pay careful attention, in order to reduce unnecessary healthcare costs, increase prevention and improve quality of life.

At a recent undergraduate student research forum, Ms Al Dhuhoori stated that “limited literacy skills is one of the strongest predictors of poor health outcomes for patients.

"Studies have shown that when patients have low reading fluency, they often know less about their chronic diseases, are worse at managing their own care, and may be less likely to take preventive measures for their own health or that of their loved ones.

"However, patients do not need to have limited literacy skills to have low health literacy, according to research," she said.

She noted the importance of addressing health literacy now, not later, because it has affected health outcomes, health care utilisation and health costs among the Emirati population.

The rapid development experienced by Emiratis over the past few decades has drastically changed their environment, to include a state-of-the-art but often complex medical system and an increasing demand for home healthcare provision due to chronic disease.

If Emiratis do not understand health information, it is difficult to take appropriate actions for their health or make appropriate health decisions that sustain a healthy community.

Our team, consisting of Emirati and non-Emirati researchers will continue to find answers for the status of health literacy in the UAE, and create awareness to address health literacy and future policy design to implement change in provider-patient communication.

This will include research on healthcare providers. Problems with health literacy affects not only people who may experience low literacy but also those who may be extremely literate in their own areas of expertise, but who have a problem understanding medical terminology.

Academic institutions should also consider including health literacy in health science curricula to better prepare professionals for the healthcare environment when it comes to effective communication.

For now, the best approach for providers is to always assume that the patient does not understand you or has a different perception of what you are saying. Providers, consider this question: if I had been your patient, how can you make sure that I understood what you meant?

Dr Ludmilla Wikkeling Scott is an assistant professor of public health & environmental sciences & sustainability and principal investigator in health literacy research at Zayed University